Articles posted by Jennifer Cerven

Jobseekers in Illinois who apply for unemployment benefits on or after July 17, 2016, will have to register for employment services and post at least one resume to the state’s job search website before they can receive unemployment payments (unless an exemption applies), according to the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES). Although the IDES is characterizing its announcement as a “reminder” that applicants for unemployment insurance benefits must show they are looking for work by registering for employment services, the requirement to post…

What is an employer to do when a long-standing employee with a known anxiety disorder engages in a public display of suicidal gestures and disruptive behavior? Don’t act in haste, but if careful consideration of the situation leads to a termination, the decision-making process may withstand scrutiny in court. That’s the outcome in a recent ruling from the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Felix v. Wisconsin Dept. of Transportation, which provides a thorough and detailed analysis of a challenging situation involving an employee…

Employers who have a Chicago-based workforce will need to begin preparations for their employees to earn and use up to five paid sick days per year now that the Chicago City Council has taken action to require sick time benefits. The new requirement, scheduled to go into effect July 2017, will allow workers within the city to earn one hour of sick time for every 40 hours of work, up to a maximum of five paid days per 12-month period. Workers also will be…

Public consent decrees that resolved several recent Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) disability discrimination lawsuits are a stark reminder that clear policies and training can help employers to avoid such consequences. A common theme of the recently-settled EEOC lawsuits is that once the EEOC files a lawsuit it will demand a public settlement that includes substantial financial terms and non-monetary relief including posting of notices in the workplace and mandatory training. In a case that the EEOC filed against a paper manufacturing company…

The EEOC is implementing nationwide procedures that will disclose employer position statements – submitted in response to charges of discrimination – to charging parties and their attorneys upon request during the course of the EEOC’s investigation of the charge. If the employer’s position statement is provided to a charging party, there is a 20-day period for the charging party to provide a response to the EEOC, but that response will not be provided to the respondent/employer during the investigation, according to a summary…